Manufacture of pile fabrics



March 7, 1933- H. L. sHuT'rLEwoRTH 1,899,990

MANUFACTURE OF FILE FABRICS Fil ed Feb. 1952 I INVENTOR M4 W ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 7, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOWARD L. SHUTTLEWORTH, OF AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK, ASSIG-NOR TO MOI-IAWK CARPET MILLS, INC., 01 AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK MANUFACTURE OF PILE FABRICS Application filed February 8, 1932. Serial No. 591,546.

This invention relates to pile fabrics of the kind used for carpets and rugs andhav ing fringe at the ends thereof forgiving the material an attractive, finished appear-.

ance. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a pile fabric having a fringe attached thereto in a novel manner which insures that the fringe and fabric will be securely bound together and that the end of the fabric to which the attachment is made will lie flat without lumps or bulges and will not fray or unravel. I

In the manufacture of rugs and carpets from pile fabrics, the securing of fringe to the fabric at its ends, which is now common practice, especially with fabrics of the better class, involves considerable difficulty. The fringe cannot be satisfactorily secured to a portion of the fabric which has a pile surface and when the fabric is woven at its ends with a heading from which pile 'tuftsare omitted, the fringecannot be directly attached to the heading by stitching because thestitching is liable to pull loose and the heading to fray and unravel. The difficulty of making such an attachment is increased in the case of Axminster fabrics because of the peculiarities of the weave of the latter. In such fabrics, the warp threads are small and of light weight while the weft yarns are coarse and heavy, and a slight pull on the back of the fabric in a direction lengthwise of the warp causes the fabric to fray or unravel because of the type of binding present and the slipping of the warp and weft threads. I The present invention is accordingly dirooted to a pile fabric having a fringe at tached theretoin a novel manner which overcomes the difficulties referred to, the new attachment construction being capable of use with satisfactory results with pile fabrics of various types, including the Axminster.

In attaching fringe to a pile fabric in ac cordance with the invention, the fabric is woven at its end or ends with a heading portion similar in weave to the body of the fabric but without pile tufts. This heading is then folded upon itself with a free edge underneath to form a strip of double thickness on top of which the fringe is placed for attachment. In making the fold, care is taken to insure that the portion of the headmg which is turned in is of less width than the remainder, thus leaving a portion of the heading of single thickness adjacent that part of the fabric which has the tufted surface. The fringe and the two plies of the heading are then'secured together by stitching which is disposed at one side of the hinge section and does not pass through it. If desired, a piece of binding strip or tape may be placed on the bottom of the doubled portion of the heading before the fringe is attached or the strip may be. omitted and the free edge of the heading finished by overedge-stitching applied by a sewing machine before the fringe is attached. In either case, the folding of the heading to provide a hmge section and the stitching of the fringe to the doubled heading in such a way as not to interfere with this section make it possible to secure the fringe firmly in position without making the fabric lumpy at thepoint of attachment. The mode of attachment described also has other advantages which will be made clear in the detailed description to follow.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompany ing drawing, in which I Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the fabric prior to attachment of the fringe;

Fig. 2 is a plan View showing the fabric with fringe attached, and

Fig. 3 isa longitudinal sectional View on an enlarged scale showing the method of attaching the fringe, the parts being illustrated in somewhat expanded condition.

The fabric illustrated in the drawing is of the Axminster type but it is to be understood that the utility of the invention is notlimited to any particular pile fabric and Axminster fabric has been selected merely as typical of such fabrics.

The fabric shown has a back 10, pile tufts 11, and a heading section 12 at one end of the fabric, this heading being woven in a manner similar to the remainder of the fabric but without pile tufts. The fringe isattached to the heading and, in making the attachment, a portion 13 of the heading slightly less than half the width of the heading is turned back and underneath the remainder 14. As a result of folding the heading in this manner, the two plies of the latter lie back to back and there is a section 14a of the heading which is not underlain by the turned under portion. The body 15 of the fringe which includestassels 16 is next laid on top of the upper ply 1a of the heading with the edge of the body portion lying close to the marginal row of pile tufts of the fabric. The body is then secured to the doubled heading by rows of stitching 17 extending through the body of the fringe and both plies of the heading. The stitching does not enter the hinge section lea, however, and the latter is free to swing upwardly to the inclined position illustrated in Fig. 3, this action permitting the bottom of the turned under portion 13 to lie substantially in the plane of the back of the fabric. The hinge thus permits the doubled heading to lie flat on the floor without producing lumps or bulges. I

if desired, a length of bindin strip or tape 18 may be placed against the bottom surface of the inturned portion 13 of the heading before the fringe is attached, the stitching 1? thus securing the tape in position. This tape may be omitted, however, if desired, and when it is not used, it is preferable to finish the raw edge of the turned under portion 13 by over-edge stitching applied by means of a sewing machine. I

The attachment of the fringe to the doubled heading section in the manner described makes it possible to bind the fringe securely in position without danger of the heading section becoming frayed or unraveling during the use of the fabric. Also, the two portions of the heading section are folded back to back, and, accordingly, they tend to become interlocked and the size used on the back of the fabric assists in holding the two plies together, thus preventing the heading from becoming bulged or lumpy. The presence of the hinge connection makes it possible for the top of the folded section to assume an elevated position without bulging, the hinge section lying substantially vertical in the finished product. The raw edge of the heading is wholly concealed and fraying or unraveling of the fabric along the edge to any substantial degree is prevented by the stitching by which the fringe is attached, even when overedge stitching on the edge is not employed. The new method of attaching the fringe is thus highly satisfactory in service and the completed product has an attractive, finished appearance.

I claim:

1. A pile fabric having a heading without pile tuftsat at least one end of the fabric,

with the free edge underneath and with no portion of the heading lying beneath that portion of the fabric provided with pile tufts, a strip of fringe having a portion lying on top of the doubled portion of the heading, and means for securing the fringe and the two plies of the heading together.

2. A pile fabric having a heading without pile tufts at at least one end of the fabric, the heading beingfolded backv upon itself with the free edge underneath and with no portion of the heading lying beneath that portion of the fabric provided with pile tufts, a strip of fringe having a portion lying on top of the doubled portion of the heading, a binding strip lying flat against the bottom of lower ply of the heading, said strip being unfolded and of substantially the same width as said upper ply, and means passing through the fringe, both plies of the heading, and the binding strip to fasten them all together.

3. A pile fabric having a heading without pile tufts at at least one end of the fabric, the heading being folded back upon itself with its free edge underneath and with no portion of the heading lying beneath that portion of the fabric provided with pile tufts, the lower ply of the heading being of less width than the upper ply to provide a section of single thickness between the doubled portionv of the heading and the remainder of'the fabric, fringe having a portion lying on top of the upper ply of the heading, and means passing through the fringe and both plies of the heading for securing them all together.

4. A pile fabric having a heading without pile tufts at at least one end of the fabric, the heading being folded back'upon itself with its free edge underneath and with no portion of the heading lying beneath that portion of the fabric provided with pile tufts, the lower ply of the heading being of less width than the upper ply to provide a section of single thickness between the doubled portion of the heading and the remainder of the fabric, fringe having a portion lying on top of the upper ply of the heading, and stitching passing through the fringe and both plies of the heading for securing them all together, H

said stitching being disposed at one side of said section of single thickness.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HOWVARD L. SHUTTLEWORTH.

the heading being folded back upon itself 

